Life With The Ketchum's
by MasteringAMuggleLife
Summary: [Future Ash, Misty series] Who ate all the cake?
1. A Typical Tea At The Ketchum

A Typical Tea At The Ketchum's

**Summary:**

**Ash and Misty, now married attempt to tame their four mischievous Ketchum kids though it doesn't always go according to plan... Even a simple dinner is a disaster waiting to happen!**

Misty and Ash balanced one another out perfectly. Ash- the laidback father, who found it difficult to discipline any of his children- was the polar opposite to his wife Misty who was a strict mother that hated the concept of even leaving her children. Misty reminded Ash a lot of Delia Ketchum, only Misty was more strict and hated to be disobeyed even more than his mother, however with the four Ketchum kids all genetically inheriting their fathers adventurous streak it was inevitable.

The eldest of the Ketchum tribe was David, in appearance he was a clone of his father's younger self yet carried so much of his mother's personality. David was temperamental, stubborn and proud, he held grudges which Misty would often say came from Ash, yet a little incident of a bike that seemed pop up over their years of travelling together seemed to settle the argument in Ash's favour. One thing Misty was certain of was that David got his brains from his mother and Ash never failed to prove this point on a daily basis... The thirteen year old dreamed of becoming a world renowned Pokémon Researcher much to the dismay of his parents. He enjoyed the occasional visit from his Uncle Gary who would often share his research with the young boy. And every weekend when the family travelled to see their grandmother back in Pallet Town David would find himself spending a lot of time with Professor Oak, a man the youngster greatly idolised.

Next of the Ketchum's was Kate an eight year old that intended to follow in her father's footsteps and become the next Pokémon master. Ash's family had come at a great cost as Misty fell pregnant at eighteen, Ash having grown up without a father was not about to abandon his own child so he gave up his dream. When Ash heard of Kate's dreams he had never felt prouder knowing that his little girl would no doubt exceed in this goal. Kate had shoulder length brown hair that was so rich it almost appeared red; her eyes matched that of her mother's. Kate was a tomboy and refused to be in a ten mile radius of a dress, in this aspect she reminded Ash of Misty but Kate's act-then-think attitude reminded him too much of himself.

After Kate neither Misty nor Ash planned to have anymore children but one drunken night surprised them with the present of twins! Scarlett and Charlie both had curly orange locks with matching brown eyes. The twins were strongly attached to one another and at now three years of age the troublesome twosome could now walk spreading terror throughout the household. Even at such a young age the twins had a deep interest in Pokémon, they adored Pikachu who seemed to spend most of his time with the toddlers. When the twins we're born Pikachu took it upon himself to look after the two and ever since he has slept in their room almost guarding them.

Today was a Tuesday and according to the cooking schedule it was Misty's turn to cook, how she wished she could turn back the clock to a Monday so that the family could order take out or how it would magically become a Friday when Brock, his wife Suzie and their son would come for weekly visit meaning that Brock would cook-up a magnificent feast. Misty dreamed that it could be the weekend when her mother-in-law cooked so that the burden didn't fall to her. Since Ash and Misty's cooking skills hadn't gotten any better they took it in turns to cook on the remaining three days, feeding their children the abomination they could only hope was edible.

Havoc reined at the Ketchum table as a persistent debated ensued.

"Dad's Infernape could seriously beat mom's Vaporeon!" Kate, still so young and naive was not as knowing about Pokémon as her brother but that never stopped her voicing her opinion.

"No Kate, he most likely wouldn't you see Infernape would be at a type advantage." David replied wisely.

"But Infernape has more powerful moves!"

"Yes but Infernape's attacks wouldn't do as much damage and Vaporeon's attack would do more damage than an average attack."

"Nu-uh you're just making things up!"

"Why would I make something like this up?"

"Because you think your super smart!"

"I am super smart idiot!"

At that very moment Ash entered the room, leaving Pikachu to have a short nap on the couch, clearly displeased with David's name calling but simply shook his head and picked up Kate who looked like she was about to do some of her very own attacking! "Tea ready yet honey?"

Still in the kitchen Misty juggled the twins and the cooking she finally came into the room to where David and Kate had returned to their heated 'debate'. She placed the twins in their high chairs and brought in the food for everyone else who were already situated at the table. The minute Misty sat down to enjoy a nice peaceful meal with the people she loved most, her temper rose as the argument got so serious as the thirteen and eight year old Ketchum's had resorted to name calling.

"Dimwit!" David was also reaching his last nerve with his younger sister.

"Meanie!" Kate retorted.

"Baby!"

"Am not! You're just a silly poop-head!"

"Well that's smart isn't it you little twerp!"

"That. Is. It!" Misty finally exploded, Ash who had silently sat back and watched the scene unfold now held a horrified face, _"here we go again..." _Ash thought. The room went silent as Misty started her little rant. "All I wanted was a silent meal together as a family was that too much to ask? Why is it every time it gets to tea time you two seem to find it oh so hilarious to launch into a fully fledged argument? It truly baffles me! Now both of you will apologise to one another and we will have a nice meal together! Do you two hear me? And I want absolutely no whining!"

With red cheeks the children apologised to one another with their heads hung in shame. Ash sat with a smirk on his face staring at the two children. "And you Ashton Satoshi Ketchum" to this Ash's head jerked up as he stirred into her Cerulean eyes, she continued suppressing a giggle at her husband's expression, "why didn't you do something?"

_"Oh crap I'm in for it now..." _

"Well you see, I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop them from arguing like you do, after all they listen to, the respect you." At this small smile crept onto Misty's face and as quickly as it appeared it left, _"flattery isn't working Ash! What do I do now?"_

"That's really sweet Ash but flattery isn't going to get you out of this."

As if Arceus had sensed the brewing tension at the table, a fork went flying through the air straight towards Ash who managed to duck just in time. All eyes centred on the young boy sat in his high chair now giggling contently at himself. Ash sent a blaming gaze at his wife that seemed to say 'he takes after you so that was your fault.' Before anyone had any chance to do anything carrots were soaring landing themselves on various victims. Scarlett had decided to join in on the assault. Kate, being the mischievous child she was, grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and threw them towards her unsuspecting brother David. It didn't take long after that for a food war to break out! Kate wore her bowl like a helmet and continued to throw whatever she could at David, fully intent on revenge. David moved between the chairs and hid under the table dodging whatever was thrown his way, he took every opportunity he had to grab a bit of food and defend himself. Ash was not about to miss this and had decided to join in fairly quickly throwing food at both children until his wife joined in. Misty- although reluctant at first finally decided to join in on the battle thinking 'if you can't beat them, join them'; near enough all of her assaults were aimed at Ash who only found this all the more amusing. The twins sat in their highchairs watching the onslaught of the food and sometimes even joining in with what little food they had left. Laughter filled the room- the whole family with large smiles stuck to their faces!

Once all the food was splattered on clothing, smudged in hair and covering every in of the dining room they sat down to observe their 'art work'. Whilst cradling her head in her hands and staring at the mess, Misty broke the silence, "I thought we weren't doing this again?" Ash sensed Misty's annoyance and sent his two older children to go have a shower, crouching beside his wife he wrapped his arms around her petite waist, "now that doesn't sound like us," his playful tone causing Misty to glare at him. Taking that as his cue to leave Ash stood up but not before planting a genuine kiss on his wife's cheek and flashing his trademark smile. He left the room ready to give the twins their own bath so that Mist was left alone. A smirk played on her own lips, "no that doesn't sound like you..." She knew she couldn't spend her day moping around so she got ready to start her day cleaning the dining room.

No day at the Ketchum household was ordinary and today was no exception; it was just a typical dinner at the Ketchum's...


	2. Trusted With The Ketchums?

Trusted With The Ketchums?

**Summary:**

**The family are headed to a Pokémon reserve, Misty's in pain so Delia takes her home leaving Ash alone with the four younger Ketchum's. Will Ash be able to get himself and his children home in one piece and will Misty's pain bring about something worse or something better for the family? **

The house was chaotic as usual, people were running around trying to get ready for the day they had planned out with Grandma Delia. David had not long gotten out of bed and was still slouching on the couch nodding off, he had yet to get dressed and time was quickly running out. The twin ran around the house manically still half dressed; meanwhile Ash was playfully tracking them. Kate was attempting to wake up David who had finally fallen asleep, by jumping on the couch. When David did finally wake up he tackled Kate to the ground and returned to the couch to try to catch up on his missed sleep.

When Misty came down the stairs she was expecting her family to be dressed and ready to go yet again she'd been let down by the illusion. The minute her foot stepped onto the hardwood floor she heard the crash of something breaking. She raced to see if anyone was injured. What she did see was her twin toddlers sat under the table laughing at their Dad who was sat on the floor surrounded by broken pieces of their former lamp. A crooked smile played on Ash's lips as he tried to tame the tension forming in the room. A second or so later David and Kate raced to the room to see their Dad sprawled on the floor- they joined in laughter. Typical. Misty gave her careless husband a hand and began to bark out her orders. "Ash, honey" she caressed his face in an innocent manner and Ash allowed his smile to grow, "clean up this mess before you really do end up hurting yourself." Ash rolled his eyes and saluted his wife before heading to the kitchen to fetch the dust pan and brush. Misty then continued her assault on the rest of her house hold. "David! I cannot believe that you aren't dressed yet. Go get you're but up stairs and get some clothes on. Kate well done sweetie you just need to brush your hair and put your shoes on, you think you can do that for me?" Kate nodded and headed up the stairs after a very grumpy David. "Now for you two," as Misty bent down to pick up one of the twins she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen however she just ignored it and picked them both up and guiding them to their room to get them ready.

Half an hour later the family we're on their way to the Pokémon reserve to meet up with Grandma. The two older children bound out of the car quickly and headed over to give their Grandma a large bear hug. Ash and Misty got out of the car and unstrapped one of the twins each who quickly run off to hug their Grandma.

The children were enjoying the reserve; they were even allowed to feed a lot of the animals. David had assaulted the staff with as many questions as he possibly could before being hauled off by one of his not-as-enthusiastic parents. Ash was upset that he hadn't been able to bring along his best pal, Pikachu, but then again the reservation didn't allow other Pokémon for safety issues. Misty sensed Ash's discomfort and grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Kate was oohing and aahing at every single Pokémon they passed. At the same time Delia was keeping her eyes on the twins who were staring everywhere wide-eyed. Misty felt another sharp pain this time causing her to double over. "Mist? What's wrong? Are you okay? Mist?" Every time Ash spoke his voice got deeper with concern. Finally when Misty had regained her breathe she looked up to her worried husband and put on her best fake smile. "I'm fine honey." By this time her whole family were staring at her, not one of them buying it.

Ash physically dragged Misty over to a bench and forced her to sit down. "What's wrong?" Misty looked into the deep brown eyes before her and knew she couldn't lie. "It's just a little stomach pain. It's nothing." Clearly unconvinced the young man turned to his Mom, "what do you think?" His Mom always knew what to do! "I think that if it actually caused you to double over we should take you home and let you rest!" Misty examined her children's faces, they were enjoying it so much here and she really didn't want to have to ruin this for them. "I'm fine really and the children have got so much more to see!" Ash saw the pleading in Misty's eyes and knew exactly what she meant, she didn't want to let the young Ketchum's down. "You're going home whether you like it or not, so mom would you mind taking her home while me and the children finish off here?" Of course Delia hadn't minded, she adored Misty like her own daughter and if she was in pain she'd gladly take her home to look after. Ash knew that his Mom could do a lot better helping Misty get better than he ever could even though he really wished it could be him who was there for the red head when she needed it.

What really worried Misty though was the fact that he had thought that he could look after their four mischievous children; alone. "No way mister!" Ash didn't see what the problem was, she'd get to rest and the children got the day out they'd been looking forward too for weeks, then it struck him. "You don't think I can do this..." The pain was evident in his voice and it, "It's not like that Ash it's just, that... Well, I- erm..." At that moment Ash grabbed onto one of each of the twins hands and walked away shouting for Kate and David, Kate joyously skipped after her Dad whilst David was more hesitant nevertheless he followed his Dad but not before sparing his Mom a sympathetic glance. Misty was marched away by her Mom in law, she felt a hell of a lot rotted than before, these are Ash's children of course he can look after them on his own, right?

Three hours later Ash was loading his four children into the car, quickly. An employee from the reserve was chasing after them so he stepped his foot onto the pedal and sped off without looking back. "Now children there's no need to tell your Mom about this okay?" Three of the hour children but David, who was sat in the front with his Dad just stared at his as though he had two heads. "Awww, come on David, she'd have my head if she knew!"

"Knew what Dad, that you spent all of your money on ice cream on hotdogs? That you let Kate eat so much ice cream she actually threw up? That you lost the twins? That you-" Ash clamped his hand over the teenagers mouth, "Okay David I get it okay? It was a bad day, no we need to forget it..." The rest of the car drive home was filled with silence, the only adult in the car was wondering how the day could have gone so far, it wasn't like it was his fault, it was hard watching four kids at the same time especially since each and every one of them tended to wander off on their own without warning him! This day can't get any worse.

Once they were home Ash went straight to the kitchen to find his Mom who was cleaning their dirty dishes that Mist had been complaining about the entire car journey to the reserve. Mist... I wonder how she is. "Hey mom, how's Mist?" Delia turned around to face her son, the minute she saw him she ran over and enveloped him into a bear hug, she went to do this with her grandchildren before answer the question. "She's just in bed sweetie; I think she really needed that rest."

Leaving his children with his trusted Mom he climbed the stairs and swiftly ambled into his shared bedroom. Entangled into the crisp white bed sheets was a beautiful redhead. Ash closed the door noiselessly and sat on the edge stroking his wife's hair. "So how'd you do?" Ash stared at the woman at lied flawlessly, "we had a great time, how are you?" A warm smile appeared on her face as her hand went up to rub her husband's arm, "you're a good liar Ash, so how badly you screw up? Are our children still in one piece?" He should have known, she'd always had this sixth sense when it came to him. "I spent all my money on ice cream and hotdogs..." He wanted to see her reaction but she gave no such thing so he continued, "Kate threw up from eating too much ice cream..." Still no reaction, _"right okay this next thing is sure to get a reaction, please God don't let her kill me_!"

"I lost the twins!" Ash quickly recoiled in on himself, closed his eyes and prepared for the hit but when none came he forced himself to look up at the girl lied on his bed, still smiling. "Did you find them?"

"Well I wasn't going to leave without them was I?" Ash knew that sarcasm wasn't going to score him any points but the way she'd taken this oh too well, something was wrong. "Then you did very well honey." Ash was freaked out by her answer and then tested his luck, "we're also banned from the reserve." Misty raised an eyebrow and replied "I don't even think I wasn't too know!" She grabbed her side and made a face indicating to Ash that she was in pain. So he got under the covers and snuggled his wife, soon both were snoring still in one another's arms. That night Delia made sure all the children were in bed before locking up and heading home.

Misty knew that Ash may not be the perfect father, hell he was far from it, but she knew for a fact that Ash would do anything for those children. She knew she had nothing to worry about.


	3. Ketchum Memories

Ketchum Memories

**Summary:**

**Ash and Misty's argument turns into reminiscence about their life together, sharing memories and soon the whole family get involved!**

With the children in bed Misty and Ash were both trying to control their voices but sometimes when you're that angry at someone it can be hard.

"I cannot believe you Ash!"

"I was _not_ flirting with her! Stop blowing things out of proportion Mist!"

"Wow proportion, big word for you that, isn't it Ketchum?"

"That makes no sense! Your last names Ketchum too!" In reaction to this Misty let out a big "ugh" and turned around folding her arms in the process. "And anyways it's not like guys don't throw themselves at you all the time!"

Misty swivelled quickly on the heel of her foot to face her husband and began to poke him in the chest, "they do not!"

"Yeah they do- like all the time. You get hit on tons more than me!"

"Pft, as if! Every time I look in your direction there's another girl hanging off of you, there always has been!"

"Name one!"

"Annabelle."

"Well, yeah but... You had Danny, Rudy, Georgio!"

"How about May, Dawn, Melody," by this point Ash was backing away from his hot tempered wife. "Angie, Macy," and that's when Ash bumped into the refrigerator knocking off a box that sprawled across the floor emptying its contents. The couple just peered down at the floor and at the same time bent down to pick up the papers, head butting one another as they did. Both burst out laughing as they lied on the tiled floor.

Eventually they sat up and started flicking through the photographs. "Look at this one Mist, it's you and me at that stupid ball you made me take you to." He pushed the photograph into Misty's face, "it was not stupid!" _This was after Ash had returned from travelling across Hoenn once again. They'd been seventeen and it was not long before Misty had gotten pregnant with the eldest of their children. Misty had begged and pleaded (something she would not normally do) for Ash to take her to the ball held in Cerulean. The couple by now had been dating three long years and never had Ash had the chance to take Misty on a real date! Not that Ash saw a problem with his... Finally Ash agreed, he'd turned up on her doorstep on time (which was a big deal when it came to Ash), in a tuxedo with his hair more tamed than normal. As if he hadn't already made enough effort Ash pulled the bunch of flowers from behind his back, Misty had never felt so privileged- not that she'd admit it of course! Mrs Ketchum caught as many pictures as she could including the one now held in Misty's hand. The picture contained Misty smiling happily at the camera whilst Ash, in a 'rare' moment of weakness, stood their smiling goofily at the girl stood beside him, his arm tightly around her waist. Although he would never admit it Ash had never felt so lucky before that night, he looked at her as she flaunted herself in the stunning midnight blue ball gown, her hair tied up in loose curls. She was flawless, or so Ash thought._

Ash and Misty smiled as they stared at the photograph framed by Misty's slim fingers. With a wide grin on his face he said, "do you remember that night?" Of course Misty remembered! _That romantic night was one of the best nights of her life; sure Ash had fallen going down the stairs and dragging her along with him and sure Ash had spilt champagne down her expensive gown and sure maybe Ash had started a food fight involving all of the guests after he had accidentally fallen onto the buffet table- but none of that mattered. That night Misty had been draped over the young man's shoulders following Misty's adamant protest to go anywhere with him after "ruining her night." On the open rooftop Ash dropped down onto one knee and looked up to the surprised face of his girlfriend. Misty had agreed and jumped into the arms of her new fiancé. The teen had twirled her around on the spot. The rest of the night was danced away until Misty had turned to Ash and asked if he was sure, to this his response was, "Mist, you're the only girl I have and will ever love! Of course I'm sure." Misty just smiled and buried her head in his shoulder only to resurface a minute later to ask, "hey Ash, promise me one thing?" With a look of certainty he stared at his bride-to-be he responded, "anything." A mischievous smile came upon Misty's face as she said "no more food fights." Ash stretched his face in thought and looked at the girl in his arms again, within a second this was followed by an eye roll, a smile and the words- "if that's what you want..." The night ended with them laughing and kissing their first kiss as a newly engaged couple._

"One of the best days of my life." Misty just looked into his deep brown eyes and kissed him on the cheek. Both searched throughout the pictures again and Misty found one that both couldn't help but smile fondly at. In the picture was Ash experiencing the first ever contact with fatherhood. _Ash cradled a very young David in his arms, the eighteen year old looked like he aged a decade, through all of the abuse hurled from his fiancé that he had endured throughout the three hour adventure that had resulted in the young baby. Ash's eyes held bags and stubble patterned his chin, but the look in his eye showed that he was anything but mature. A look of panic could be seen, a look of confusion and fear but all of this was overshadowed by the true emotion of adoration and devotion as he held his son in his arms for the first time. _"Look at David, he looks so young!" Ash grabbed the picture from his wife and sat cross legged staring at the picture with nothing but love. "I remember when he was that young," Ash added. Misty just stroked his hair back before passing her comeback, "and I remember the state you were in that day." _Ash came running out of Misty's room; his eyes darting around scoping the room frantically, his hair messily pulled in all directions and his limbs shaking uncontrollably. The poor boy looked like he'd just been mugged Brock ran over to him and clamped onto his shoulders, a stern look on his face, "Ash what are you doing?" Shaking his head Ash replied, "I can't do it Brock, I'm eighteen for Christ's sake! I'm not ready to be a dad, I mean I'm not finished being a kid yet, I have so much time to do so much more. I've got to go Brock." Brock's grip didn't let up rather it tightened and the younger boy was rooted to his spot. "Ash, do you love Misty?" Ash looked at his friend as though he had just asked the most stupidest question ever- "of course I love her! What do you take me for Brock? You know I love Misty! Why would you ask such a stupid question Brock? Why?! " Now it was Ash's turn, like a firing squad he was demanding his answers nearly knocking Brock onto his bum as he did so. "Then why are you just leaving her here, if you loved her you would stick by her!" Ash contemplated his words and then realised what he was doing, he was being his father... He would not be that man. Without a second thought Ash marched back into the hospital prepared to have his hand crippled for life. After an hour of getting his hand painfully crushed he saw his son, almost a clone of himself. And with that Ash fainted to the floor, a smile on his face._

Misty just laughed at Ash's evil stares pointed towards his wife. She stood up and minutes later came back with a wine bottle and two glasses, she poured them both a glass and took a sip before carrying on with her photo hunt. "Oh God I remember this one..." Misty peered over her husband's shoulder to see a picture of Kate in the hospital, her arm in plaster. This was the first of many hospital trips for Kate. Misty looked at her husband, "it wasn't your fault honey." _Forgetting that Kate was an impressionable young girl, Ash and the four year old argued over whose fault it was that the ball was now safely in the trees grasp. Ash effortlessly started to climb the tree but as soon as he stepped foot on the branch he fell to the floor with what was left of the branch beneath him. Kate had offered to climb it and after much persuasion Ash reluctantly agreed to allow her to, giving her a little extra height to reach the first branch. At first Ash trained his eyes to watch the little girl and make sure that she would not fall, but once Kate reached the ball he felt a sense of relief flood him. Unfortunately he was happy all too soon as Kate fumbled to reach a lower branch she tumbled harshly towards the floor. Ash had rushed his little girl to the hospital and never left her side even once she was discharged and given the all clear._

Misty kissed her husband on the cheek and he allowed himself to lean against her a little more. "Ew!" Misty and Ash looked at the door frame where there stood a very disgruntled looking eight year old, she came rushing up to hug her dad and sat in his lap making him laugh. "Kate what are you doing up?" She looked up towards her mother with her matching eyes, "I heard you arguing, and then laughing. You woke me up!" She looked at her accusingly but her attention then diverted to a picture of herself with the twins, she picked it up and stared at it. "I remember us telling you about mommy being pregnant with them." He poked his daughter lightly in the stomach earning him a giggle from Kate. _"Kate, baby why don't you sit down?" Kate did as her father said and she and David looked expectantly at their parents. "We have some news-" David impatiently interrupted his parents and asked, "you're having another baby aren't you?" Ash and Misty exchanged glances and look sceptically at their son who just shrugged his shoulders and said "it's just like last time." Before anymore questions were asked he looked up at his mum and said, "I'm okay with it, just don't have a girl!" The eight year old then scampered off to his room leaving his parents to question the five year old before them. "What do you think Katie?" Tears brewed in her eyes and she poked her mother's stomach. The two parents started to panic. "Imma be a big sister!" The little girl bounced on the couch and tackled her mother. Ash literally had to pry Kate off of her._ The three chuckled and stood at the door a confused yet lethargic looking David who let out a huff and continued on his trek to the refrigerator.

"David?" He turned around, milk carton in hand, "Yep?" Ash waited for an explanation and David just simply pointed to the drink in his hand. "So what's all this?"

"Thank your mother's mood swings!" For that Ash got a hard hit on the arm, David came and sat in between his two parents sticking his tongue out at Kate who remained sat contently in her father's lap. David's smile grew when he saw a random picture he picked it up and waved it in the air. "Now, this one I remember!" It was an image of the entire family sat in a nice, posh restraint- now what a mistake that was! _The twins shrieked as the waiter, in his best efforts tried to get the orders needed to create the meals. After a fifteen minute struggle to calm the two they finally placed their order and Misty placed her head in her hands, utterly embarrassed. Five minutes later a large woman passed by the table to get to her own and Kate shouted "Mommy, look that lady's pregnant just like you were!" The woman turned and gave her dirty looks and carried on her way. By this point Ash and Misty were ready to leave, but stupidly decided to stick it out. David then told his parents that he was going to the bathroom, Kate decided it be a good idea to tell the world and in the loudest voice she could she shouted "David's going for a pee-pee." Misty informed David that when he got back they would be leaving however when he did get back the food had already arrived and they felt obliged to eat it. Half way through the meal David's face went red and began to swell, an ambulance had to be called but before it could actually get there he threw up all over the table. Ash and Misty had never been to the restaurant since! _"That sure was fun!" Kate, in all her naivety said. No-one even tried to explain how it was everything but fun.

David handed the picture to Kate and picked up another, "what about this one?" He showed everyone the picture; it was from the twin's birthday last year. At that very moment Misty and Ash looked up to see the devils themselves coming to sit on their mother's lap. "Everywone was gone!" Scarlett said, half heartedly hugging her teddy to her chest as her eyes began to close. Charlie just sucked his thumb and looked at picture David was holding. _Everything had gone smoothly; there had been no glitches, no mess ups like other birthday parties in the past. Mrs Ketchum had slaved for countless hours baking the perfect cakes for the twins. And now was the great unveiling, Brock brought handed over the large masterpiece and the twins stared at it. No candles were lit, not after David's sixth birthday! Everyone began to sing 'Happy Birthday' and the twins shared a glance, speech was not need and in unison they face planted the cake, their mouths open wide. Everyone was flabbergasted and just stared at the two as they claimed the cake. The room filled with laughter, Misty instantly knew that the birthday party had been too good to be true- but she wouldn't change anything, she stood and patiently watched as her two monsters claimed what was rightfully theirs._ On the picture cake leftovers were splattered all over the twins face but it hadn't mattered because they were happy! Misty looked down to see Scarlett asleep.

Leaving the mess on the floor the family travelled upstairs to their respective bedrooms and before practically passing out Misty heard "I'm sorry" as Ash snuggled closer. Everyone slept with a smile on their face that night, all aware that although their lives were far from perfect, it was one that none of them would change for anything!


	4. A Ketchum Homecoming

A Ketchum Homecoming

**Summary:**

**Misty's on her way home from a conference for Gym Leaders and Ash wants to do something for her homecoming and he's roping the children into it too!**

He picked Scarlett up in his arm and held his hand out for Charlie. The two instantly grasped onto their father as they wandered into the car park. After strapping both of them in he headed to pick up his eldest two. Kate was first. He stopped outside of the primary school and quickly slid open the car door. His daughter literally dived into the car, onto the floor and Ash shut the door before ambling into the front. Once there he eyed his abnormal daughter who smiled innocently as though she hadn't just jumped into the car like a lunatic. Raising an eyebrow her facade dropped. A high pitched voice sounded at the gates of the school calling after a 'Mr Ketchum'. Sparing a second to glare at his daughter and drove away to pick up David, after all he couldn't afford to be late, not again.

"What was it this time, Katie?" The girl stubbornly crossed her arms across her chest and pouted in her father's direction. "Katie?" The youngster let out a sigh, rolled her eyes and replied,

"Mrs Berlitz said I couldn't touch the Pokémon eggs when I tried she shouted at me and told me not to do it again, but Carly dared me, but I told her no because I didn't want to get into trouble but then she called me chicken so I just had too dad!" The splutter of words dazzled the aging man and he chose to throw her a questioning glance and drawled out the word;

"Okay..." To the little girl that meant that everything was settled and she sharply nodded her head and looked to the window. Ash was only thankful that he knew Dawn from their travelling days meaning she was more likely to understanding as to why his children where the way they were.

Outside of his son's high school Ash impatiently tapped his fingers on the leather steering wheels. He tried so hard not to look but after five minutes the urge became just too much. He diverted his gaze to the outside world and saw his son handing Gabriella Hayden her books and files. Gabriella, or Gabby, had her mother's brown hair and her father's green eyes. She was a stunning girl with a wide range of intelligence instantly reminding David's father of Max Maple, Gabby's uncle. Gradually they ended their conversation as Gabby boarded the bus. Usually Ash would offer the young girl a ride, when neither of her parents were able to pick her up (both May and Drew were very important figures in the co-ordinating world) but today he needed to get the children home as fast as he could- he had a plan. David ambled into the car and strapped on his seatbelt, with his father's driving he'd need it...

After the seventeen minute drive home Ash had stuffed the four mini Ketchum's onto the couch, Scarlett and Charlie in the middle.

"So, I have some news." Each one of the four sat on the couch looked up expectantly at their parent, edging him to continue. "Your mother's getting back a day early!"

Three days ago Ash's wife had needed to attend a gym leaders meeting in Johto despite her several excuses to the Pokéleague board about her sudden fatigue. Ash couldn't remember what part of Johto, and now he didn't need to. Misty was returning and his three days of singular parenting torture was over. He dreaded the idea of ever being left alone with the four again- not that he didn't love them, quite the opposite in fact. However three days of a nagging teenager establishing a hatred for absolutely everything, an eight year old adrenaline junkie with a sudden death wish and two troublesome twins on a mission to decorate the home walls with crayon; it was not something he wished to do on a daily basis. And as if that wasn't enough he'd been declined the four days of vacation time that he had requested, apparently he no longer had any of those... The newspaper he worked for had needed him to write several articles all based on the new Pokémon master and his visit to the Kanto region, much to his distain.

Smiles lit up his children's faces; he took this as his cue to deliver the last piece of news. "And we're going to bake her a welcome home cake!" The room filled with several moans all stating their immediate detestation of the idea. One thing the four had learned from their parents was that they could not cook. David, Kate and the twins definitely did not want to run the risk of poisoning their mother, not so soon after her return.

"No Daddy!" Scarlett looked up to her father, her eyes beginning to water. Charlie hugged his upset twin and looked over to the man who had upset her.

"Daddy, no." A puzzled expression occupied the raven haired man as he looked to his younger clone. Without a hint of humour he posed the question:

"You want to kill Mum?" A troubled look surpassed Kate as she went into a state of panic. Jumping from her seat she tackled her father to the ground, something she was now accustomed to doing when she did not get her own way.

"I know you and Mummy fight but that's no reason to kill her!" Her small fist curled into fists and she bashed them into her father's chest. Carefully he grabbed both her hands and sat up; she slipped into his lapped yet refused to look at him in the eyes.

"I would _never_ hurt your mother! Ever. I just thought it would be nice for us to do something for her coming home." The children looked up to their father as though he'd gone mad although in their eyes he had. "Don't you think she'd love it?" Nobody spoke. "It'll be fun!" Still silence. "Come on, we can do this." By now he was pleading. David softened his features.

"Fine," without another word he headed for the kitchen. Three smaller figures followed after him as though he was the ring leader and if he agreed, then they all agreed. But then again Ash wasn't going to argue; he pounced to his feet and began to shout out instructions.

"Er, Dad, we don't have any of the ingredients..." The elder flushed a light pink at his stupidity. He packed everyone into the car and they were soon on their way to the Cerulean supermarket, the biggest in all of Kanto.

The Twins allowed themselves to be placed side by side in the trolley, Kate grabbed a hold of the metal bar and David slumped after his family, pretending not to be with them whilst Ash drove the piece of metal through the shop. After a minute he realised it would take far too long to get all of the ingredients one by one and devised a game.

"David? Kate? We're going to play a game. I'm going to split this list into three and give you some money okay? It'll be you two versus me and the twins, whoever reaches the till with all of the items on their list wins, agreed?" Pondering the proposal David challenged his father.

"And we win?" Damning Misty for giving their son a cunning intelligence he thought of all the possibilities that could tempt David, Kate didn't need a bribe.

"You win... Half an hour longer before bedtime?" Although Kate was eager David didn't seem to budge. "How about, you can buy anything in the store under the limit of-" He leafed through his wallet to determinate a rough number that he would have left after this little shopping trip- "ten pounds?" Such like his mother he shook his head and once again Ash found himself cursing Misty's ability to bargain for exactly what she wanted. "An hour extra at Professor Oak's on Sunday?" When his offer was turned down a third time he offered the only other thing he could think of: "you can use Pikachu for the experiment you wanted to do yesterday?" A gleam sparkled in the teen's eye- he'd gotten exactly what he wanted. Smirking he shook his father's hand, grabbed their half of the list and him and Kate were running.

Suddenly realising what he'd just agreed to he began to move himself.

"Come on you two, we don't want to let David experiment on poor Pikachu do we now?" In unison the two remaining Ketchum's replied.

"No Daddy."

Twenty minutes later Ash found himself apologising and explaining to Pikachu exactly why he had to suffer for his owners stupidity; again.

"Chu..." Eventually he gave up and crawled back to his spot on the corner. Ash sighed in relief and turned around. Prepared to bake a cake.

"Can't be that hard, right?" He mumbled under his breath and got to work.

Just like any typical Ketchum event everything went disastrously wrong. David didn't take the egg out of its shell, when Kate attempted to use the electronic whisk she splattered cake mix decoratively onto the beige kitchen walls. Scarlett had started eating the chocolate Ash wanted to melt on the top of the cake, Charlie had spilt the yeast all over the floor, causing Ash to fall flat on his face and bruise his left cheek. Of and of course a fire took place so that all that was left of the cake was a solid black slab that was better off used as a hockey puck than something edible.

Deflated by failure Ash was surprised by the organisition skills of his eldest who got out a plain cake and passed it to him.

"Where'd you get this?" He shrugged his shoulders and Kate answered excitedly.

"David knew this would happen so we bought another cake to decorate!" Sharing a smile, father and son as well as the rest of the family wrote three words messily on the surface. 'Welcome Home Mummy.'

It was five 'o' clock when Misty stammered through the door lugging her suitcase behind her. The first thing she noticed was that her home was unusually clean... Instantaneously she was swept into the arms of her loving husband. Her four children followed holding a gift that melting her heart.

"Is this for me? You really didn't have to!" The woman found her eyes releasing water and she quickly wiped them away.

"Why don't you go and sit down while we go and cut you a slice?" She nodded and was soon left alone. When her family returned she was silently snoring. Ash laughed and picked up his wife in her arms. He carried her to their room and laid her on the bed. He leant down and swiped a piece of hair.

"I liked the twins drawing... On the wall..." He laughed.

_"This woman misses nothing!"_ A bang sounded downstairs and soon Ash was racing down the stairs to attend to the new catastrophe about to take place.


	5. Your Not So Typical Day At The Ketchum's

Your Not So Typical Day At The Ketchum's

**Summary: An argument, an explanation and a trip to the hospital? **

"You are!"

"No you are!"

"You are!"

"No you are!"

Their hushed argument was becoming more and more heated as the same old repetitive things passed back and forth. If Brock were here he'd be referring to the good old days and how the two had not changed the slightest bit. But Brock wasn't there he was most likely at home, in bed with his wife. Now there was no one to stop the two. And so the argument began to escalate, until...

"You know what Ash? If you're not man enough to do it then I will!" A look of disbelief crossed his face at his wife's words. This was the man that had faced death more times than anyone could dare to count, he had placed himself into trouble daily for other people and here she stood with the audacity to say that he was not man enough? The raven haired man gritted his teeth and took a stance his wife had practically lived on. He pointed his finger at her and shouted back in a hush tone.

"Fine Misty, wanna' play it like that then I'll do it, okay? Are you happy now?" But indeed the redhead was not. Her cheeks flamed red and she grabbed the end of her husband's finger, twisting it back in the process, not so that it hurt but so that it was no longer pointed at her face.

"No, I'm not I've already said that I'll do it."

"There's just no pleasing you is there? I said I'll do it so why don't you just go to sleep in our double bed?" The two hadn't had an argument quite so intense in such a while, before any of the children were born to be exact. Ash's tone was not the usual laid back loving tone that Misty had become acquired to. She knew there was no chance of her convincing Ash that she'd do it. She had lost. She launched the two items in her hand at him but her husband had managed to catch the pillow and blanket with perfect precision. When he looked back in her direction she had gone and wa left with the sight of her in her pink Psyduck pyjama bottoms and one of Ash's old t-shirts, skulk off up the stairs. Once she was out of view he collapsed on to the couch, head in hands. A sigh of defeat escaping his lips.

He thought about how the day had gone from bad to worse but if he was being honest with himself he really had no idea what had sparked this particular argument, they had jumped from one topic of debate to the next so quickly that it was hard for him to process what was being said. In his mind he knew that Misty too had no clue why they were arguing. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, up the stairs to where the first door stood. His door to his and Misty's room. The raven haired man knew that he could go up there and apologise and everything would be alright again yet for some reason tonight's argument had really drained him of his energy. Maybe this is what the full extent of having four persistent kids was like. Slowly he sunk into the depth of the couch and placed the pillow under his head. No, tonight he would stay here, he would apologise in the morning. Before even realising what was going on, Ash was swept away into a whole new world where anything was possible.

An abrupt awakening faced Ash the next morning, but he should have prepared himself for it. Three weights shifted onto his body, sitting on his chest and legs. At first his vision was blurry but once finally placed into focus he saw his twin children looking at him strangely before going back to watching some show on the kids channel. Suddenly everything went yellow. A face pooped up and he smiled wearily at the face of his best friend.

"Hey Pikachu." The Pokémon purred in satisfaction, truly content with his master's love as he leant into the man's hand, a small chuckle leaving his owners mouth as he did so. "Misty up yet, bud?" With an anime style shake of his head the Pokémon darted off to sit in Charlie's lap, who petted him whilst sucking his thumb. Jokingly Ash shouted at Pikachu, "so loyal!" The Pokémon picked up on the humorous overtones and stuck out his tongue dramatically causing both twins to burst into a fit of giggles. Ash sat up and moved them off his legs. All three sat watching the random show before them, wrapped up in the single blanket.

A few sniffles were heard and Ash turned to see his eight year old daughter Kate, teary eyed. Instantaneously he scooped her into his arms and rocked her.

"What's wrong Katie?" The young girl sat up and still weeping, responded;

"Are y-you and mommy getting a d-divorce?" A silence dawned upon the room, the blur of the television overpowered by the children's need to know the answer. A thousand and one things swirled in the fathers head as he held his eldest daughter. With brows furrowed he wondered why Kate would think such a thing; _"did her mother give off this impression, did I give off this impression, did they overhear us last night."_ One last scenario popped it his head: _"did Misty say something?"_ Worry and panic washed over him however he forced a smile to his face when he saw the same look in his daughter's eyes.

"Kate. why would you think that, honey?" The girl swallowed and looked her father in the eyes so that she'd be able to tell if the man was lying. Taking a last shaky breath she went onto explain.

"Amber's daddy started sleep-ing on the couch too and then the, the next day her mummy and daddy told her that they w-were getting a d-divorce. Are you and m-mummy g-getting one?" Ash had never felt so relived. He looked in the direction of two of his other children, both eager to know the truth as well. Carefully he moved them closer so that he managed to hold all three of them in a hug. Hastily he planted a kiss on each of their foreheads before answering.

"Listen, last night mummy and daddy had a argument-" a sob escaped Kate's mouth so he held her closer- "and before daddy could apologise he fell asleep on the couch. Now you listen to me carefully, okay? Never will me and mummy get a divorce do you hear me?" Every one of them nodded so Ash persisted. "I promise. I love your mummy and I'm pretty sure your mummy loves me. Now she's been under a lot of stress lately so I think that we need to be really nice to her today, okay?" Again, his question was followed by three nods. Using his thumb he wiped away Kate's remaining tears.

"You mean that daddy?"

"I do."

"You promise?"

"I do." Ash felt as though he was speaking his wedding vows once again, but that's a story for another time. Ash felt a presence behind him and spun quickly on his heel only to meet the panicked face of his teenage son. He put Kate down ready to tackle the second problem of the day.

"David, what's wrong?" Speaking in hushed tones the boy whispered into his father's ears, not wanting to worry his younger siblings.

"I think something's wrong with mum."An expression of curiosity passed the grown man's face so the teen elaborated. "I heard her moaning, it sounds like she's in pain..." Looking at David he could see genuine concern and instantly knew that he was not lying.

"Watch your brother and sisters a minute while I check on your mum okay?" The boy nodded and Ash raced up the stairs, taking two at a time. Once he'd arrived at the door he knew exactly what David had meant. Slowly he opened the door to see his wife on the floor clutching her sides. Another groan of pain passed her lips before noting her husband's presence. In one smooth move he slid to his knees and brought his wife to his chest.

A few tears broke free and glided down her porcelain skin, leaving trails behind them. It had been a while since the man had seen his wife cry and the sight was breaking his heart. His hand rubbed the woman's back attentively in large circles as he pulled her closer to him so that her hand was clutching to the thick material of his shirt whilst her face was buried into the crook of his neck. Each racked sob caused the man to squeeze the hand in his as he brought her into her lap.

"Ash... I think something is wrong." Her voice was barely a whisper as she continued to weep. He parted from his wife slightly to look her in her beautiful blue orbs.

"Mist, what's wrong?" She shook her head and cried out in pain, clutching her stomach at the same time. Without another second to spare he gathered the pained woman into his arms and began to carry her out the room, downstairs, outside and finally to the car e where he securely strapped her seatbelt on. Crouched down, he looked to her eyes and moved a stand of hair from her face yet his hand stayed in contact with her cheek even after the action was done. She travelled her own hand up to his and placed in delicately into his palm supportively. When another flash of pain occurred she grabbed hold until the pain subsided. The tight hold of his fingers wrapped defensively around the back of her palm, loosened slightly once he saw her expression change to one of relief.

"Now I'm going to go and get the kids, just stay here, I'll be right back." No argument came from the redhead and Ash felt himself missing the witty comments. Carefully he shut the car door before turning on his heel only to be met with four determined faces.

Whilst his father had been attending to his distressed mother, David had superbly rounded up his younger brother and sisters. Not one of them had objected and the four had marched out the door, following the raven haired teenager. He stopped outside and watched as his father cautiously closed the door. Through the shield between him and his mother- he could see the woman that had helped raise him, shake as tears fell from her eyes. It was the first time he'd ever seen her cry.

"And the last... I hope." David ushered his younger siblings into the car. His father ruffled his hair before rushing over to the other side where he jumped into the driver's seat. Kate and David quickly ensured the two toddlers had their seatbelts sorted before themselves, after this was done Ash started the car, instantly zipping over the tarmac- intent on getting to the hospital as quickly as possible.

"We need a doctor." Ash carried his wife in his strong arms once again, a trail of children in tow. She winced in pain as she clutched the shirt of her husband. A nurse rolled a wheelchair towards the couple, although reluctant Ash lowered her onto the mobile chair softly, not wanting to hurt her. Swiftly he grabbed her hand and threw his mobile phone at his eldest. "Wait in the waiting room outside the room, call uncle Brock and Grandma, okay?" Knowing he probably should have let Misty's sister known to the situation but he purposely ignored the fact, not wanting to worry the youngest Waterflower.

Never once did Ash leave his wife's side as the nurse carried out various test as well as questions. Eventually a Doctor joined the conversation which calmed Ash's nerves because he knew, or at least hoped that his wife would soon be better again.

The doctor placed his hands upon Misty's abdomen before asking,

"Is there a possibility that you could be pregnant?" Just as another cramp came she clamped down on the hand in hers. Afterwards she turned to the man, purposely ignoring the father of her children's anime style fall to floor as he cradled his crippled hand.

"Not at all, I've been having my monthly-" abruptly she was interrupted by her blushing husband.

"Misty, I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to know the details!" The redhead rolled her eyes then looked back up to the doctor who appeared to be chuckling. Once he'd finished he told Misty that they would carry out a sonogram so that they could rule out the idea of pregnancy. Despite her protests that she was not carrying another Ketchum inside of her, the doctor insisted. The pain's became more frequent and appeared to be taking more of an effect on the female, after a while she gave up and just allowed the nurse to do the sonogram.

Never before had Misty felt so much pain, her knuckles turned white as she grasped onto her husband's hand that was once again in hers. Every couple of seconds he would ask he if she was okay, by now she wasn't really listening. The cool gel on her stomach would normally cause her to jump up into a sitting position since she was unprepared but that would require energy, energy that she did not have to spare. With a hastened breath she felt the tears pinprick once again yet one look at Ash's clueless was enough to keep her going.

Before she even realised anything was happening she was surrounded by doctors, or nurses, in all honesty she wasn't exactly paying much attention. Even the raven haired man had picked up the tension; he began to ask questions which were ignored as things began to be prepared. Suddenly the doctor from before pulled him over to the side to explain.

"Mr. Ketchum, you're wife is pregnant and in labour, we need to act fast if we want to save your baby, we believe that he or she may be premature." He began to hyperventilate and was forced to sit whilst the doctor returned to the redhead's bedside. Once he heard her scream in pain he ran to her side...

Brock had just arrived; quickly he spotted the Ketchum clan and sat beside a troubled Delia Ketchum.

"Any news?" The brunette shook her head, subconsciously stroking David's head whilst he leaned into her- something she had done a lot when Ash was younger and upset. Brock sat beside then began to nervously twiddle his thumbs as he looked at the door he expected Misty was through. He'd come to love the younger girl as a sister and the thought of her in pain made him worry excessively. However he knew that although sometimes dense, Ash would take fine care of her.

A nurse left the room causing the family to rise but they impatiently returned when she ran from the room, carrying something in her arms. A tedious tapping could be heard but the adults drowned it out knowing that was just Kate's way of filling time. Again, the door opened, this time revealing a pale looking Ash who didn't notice his family, instead he began to walk down the corridor deep in thought.

"I've got this Delia." The elderly brunette nodded and watched the two silhouettes fade off into another room.

"Is mummy going to be okay?" Delia looked to Scarlett, Charlie tightly holding onto her. In her hands she clutched her favourite teddy.

"Of course she is sweetie. Your mummy's a fighter!" This brought a smile to all four of the children's faces.

Ash felt someone tug at his shoulder so he spun around to face the person who was intruding on his thoughts.

"You okay there, Pal?" He nodded. "How's Misty?"

"Sleeping." Brock was becoming increasingly worried with the one words answers but pursued.

"But she's okay though?" Another nod of the head.

"Did they find out what was wrong?" Another.

"Well?"

"She was pregnant?" The statement was not one he was expecting, he had noticed the redhead gain a bit of weight and her mood swings were hard to miss yet nothing about this screamed pregnant like her last three pregnancies had. Then Brock realised he said 'had'.

"Ash, what happened to the baby?"

"It's been delivered..." This was, again, not what he had expected. "She didn't know she was pregnant..."

"Wait let me get this straight, neither of you knew she was pregnant but she's just had a baby." Ash nodded. "Wow... I expected you to be more excited, I thought you wanted more kids?" The man slumped into a chair so Brock did the same.

"I did, but, I mean. It's hard Brock. What if we can't handle another kid?" Good heartedly Brock slapped the man lightly on the back.

"This is you and Misty we're talking about. You two can get through just about anything. Trust me, you'll do fine."

"You really think so Brocko?"

"Definitely, now c'mon, Misty'll freak if you're not there when she wakes up." Now smiling he joined his friend on his feet and the two talked about the strange sense of déjà vu they both felt. The two parted ways outside of Misty's room, where Brock began to confide in the grandmother of yet another Ketchum.

When Ash returned Misty was already awake, frantically searching the room.

"Hey," he made sure that his voice was soothing as he approached the bed. "I'm here. Are you okay?" She didn't speak but snatched for the man's hand. He just smiled and sat by her bedside attempting to calm her. After a while she finally found her voice,

"I'm sorry." He wasn't sure whether it was for the argument earlier or the surprise from today. It didn't matter, neither pained him, neither needed an apology.

"Shut up you softy." Finally smiling, she let out a tired giggle. The door opened.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum?" A unison of nods. "I'd like you to meet your surprisingly healthy son." Teasingly Ash said.

"That'll be my genes." Rolling her eyes he got the reply of:

"Keep dreaming Ketchum," The nurse chuckled at the couple's banter as she handed over the small baby to his mother. A full head of curly black hair visible in tufts on his head.

"He's a bit small but otherwise perfectly healthy. I'll just leave you two." She crept out of the room.

Misty looked to Ash who has gingerly stroking the child's rosy cheeks, the movement awaking him from his precious slumber. Two large blue eyes peered over at the two before watering up and accompanying the large sob running from his mouth. A lullaby sung by the new mother of five soon calmed the baby. He hushed and listened to the melodic tunes that had been sung to each of his siblings at one time or another. After the song was over he just lied in his mothers eyes observing the two before him.

"How about Jack?" The woman looked to her husband in confusion.

"Huh?"

"And I'm the dense one? He needs a name, how about Jack?"

"Jack?"

"Yes, Jack."

"I like it." Rocking him back and forth she added, "welcome to the world Jack."

A small slit opened in the door and Ash wavered in their other children, Delia and Brock. Charlie and Scarlett where lifted onto the bed whilst David and Kate climber on to it on their own. Delia planted herself on the chair where Ash had sat whilst Brock stood close to the couple, so that he could see the new addition to their, if not slightly dysfunctional, family.

"Jack, meet your family."

That day the children spent as long as they could with their new baby brother and just before having to leave they caught the sight of their mother and father kissing.

"Eww!" The chorus was shouted and all four children ran into the waiting room, waiting for their father to lead them home.

"We'll be okay you know?"

"Wow, such insightful words there Ash." She chuckled as she he shook his head playfully, joining in with her laughter a minute later.

"You know what I mean though, right?"

"Yeah, Ash, I do." For the second time that day Ash was reminded of the day he and his wife spoke his vows. A content smile bestowed his face. With one last kiss he left the room. He knew that they'd get by, easily.

** [A/N:**

**Sort of been building up to this for a while, with Misty's stomach pains and mood swings. I know some of you picked up this instantly :') This is actually the result of me watching 'I didn't know I was pregnant'... Sorry if some things aren't accurate. Hope you still liked though!]**


	6. A Ketchum Road Trip

A Ketchum Road Trip

**Summary: Baby Jack's first outing with his family and it's fair to that the direction skills of his parents haven't really improved since their days travelling... At least he has his siblings there to explain the process of how their parents 'work'. **

Misty and May had been planning this day for weeks, but with the new arrival of Jack it had been postponed to a later date. And that day was today. The Hayden-Slate-Ketchum day out. Drew, Brock and Ash had left all of the planning to their wives- Misty, May and Suzie, but they did not care, they took great pleasure in organising the small event. It had been a while since Misty and May had seen each other, and Ash couldn't wait to catch up with his old friends once again. The children had instantly loved the idea, of course. Kate couldn't wait to rub it in Cindy Hayden's face that she had gotten the highest in her class on the Pokémon types test. Scarlett and Charlie just wanted to see little Hazel Hayden, their two year old friend. And David was eager to spend the day with his best friend Gabby Hayden; and his best friend Jason Slate, of course.

This would be the first Ketchum day out with the newcomer, Jack. The redhead worried but a few soothing words from her husband encouraged her to dress him all ready for their day at the beach. Whilst she was upstairs doing so, Ash had been ordered to ensure that they were all ready for a full day of sun filled fun. So far he'd gotten the beach equipment, spare clothing and himself prepared but he couldn't help but wonder what he was forgetting.

A groaning David pandered into the living room and flopped onto the couch. The teenage boy reminded him of exactly what it was that he was forgetting.

"David, why aren't you ready?" The couch cushion muffled the teen's voice creating an incomprehendable murmur. "What?" With another groan he got to his elbows, and spoke slowly as though to mock his father.

"Nobody else is ready."

"Of course they are! They are ready aren't they?" His younger clone shook his head. "What do you mean they're not ready?"

"I mean they're not ready."

"Right get up, get dressed." The boy made no attempt to move. "Now, David!" Rolling his eyes, he got to his feet and wandered up the stairs. Huffing in annoyance the grown man mumbled as he walked to find his other offspring. "I swear when I was that age I wouldn't dare ignore my mum!" The first to be found were the twins. Charlie sat poking Pikachu in the nose and feeling the tiny bolt of electricity run through him, next he'd giggle and shuffle on the spot before carrying out the option. Ash knew that Pikachu would never hurt him or his family, especially the twins, who he'd seemed to make a spontaneous bond with almost immediately after being introduced to the babies. The Pokémon was simply teasing the three year old and sending the lightest and harmless zaps of power through the boy. Meanwhile Scarlett was sat- knees crossed, tedding in arms- asleep. Slightly she leaned against her brother and when the small shock of electric passed through her from her twin she would shuffle slightly but continue on her dormancy.

Crawling on all fours he approached the two.

"Hey, we have to get you two ready." A quick flash of disappointment was seen in their eyes. "Come on, or we won't be able to see Hazel and Cindy and Jason and Auntie May and Uncle Brock and-" before anything else could be said the two were storming up the stairs. "I'll be up in a second," he shouted up to the two of them. "Now Pikachu, I need you to find Kate, bring her upstairs for me. That okay, Buddy?"

"Pika!" Keen to find the tomboy the yellow ball of fur zapped away, leaving Ash alone. They had had hardly begun yet he could already feel the drain on his energy. Looking up he saw the large yearly family portrait above the fireplace and suddenly he was at full energy once again. Smiling, he headed up stairs to assist the two stubborn toddlers.

This small hiccup in the time schedule, built up and they found that they were already half an hour late. A restless Misty wrestled her children and husband into the car. But she soon noticed the judicious look upon the drivers face.

"What?" She felt unusually self conscious as she pondered why he would look at her in such a way.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What are you talking about Ash? We have;" she began to use her fingers to count off what they had, "the equipment, spare clothes, you, me, David, Kate, Charlie, Scarlett-" then she realised her mistake. In a flash she was running back into the house. When she returned she buckled in baby Jack in between Kate and David, in the second row. Scarlett and Charlie sat behind, observing their mother whilst laughing infectiously. Grouchily she sat back in the passenger and refused to meet the eyes of her chuckling husband. "Aren't we going to get going?"

After an hour long driving session the couple came to a halting conclusion; they were lost.

"How have you managed to get us lost? You have a map!" The flustered redhead scrunched up said map and poked her husband in the chest.

"Oh like you could have navigated us there! I seem to remember you holding your maps upside down, Ketchum!"

"That was years ago Mist, would you drop it already?!"

Whilst the argument continued Kate turned to her newest brother who appeared to be on the very of crying and held his tiny hand in hers. Sensing the baby's distress Pikachu jumped into the second row to sit on the edge of the baby seat. Just as he had done when he was younger to Misty's baby Togepi, he pulled funny faces in hopes of calming the newborn down. Even though this seemed to have worked the baby was still on the edge.

"Don't worry about them." The big blue eyes of the boy met with the brown ones of his eldest sibling. "They argue a lot." His eyes searched his elder's face, unsure of whether to begin crying again or listen to the rest of the teen's words that to him didn't actually mean anything... However something compelled the small baby to listen, so sticking his sister's hand in his mouth and earning an "ewww" from her- he stared at David. "You see I think that they secretly like to argue... They've done it since I was a baby, just like you, although it was never really as much. But anyways it doesn't matter how much they argue because it's always okay in the end!"

Kate decided to intervene.

"Yeah, Poophead is right." She ignored the glare from 'Poophead' but couldn't manage to force the smile off her face. "One time..."

_"Ketchum!" Ash ducked under the table, intent on hiding from his wife. He heard her foot tap against the stone flooring as she closed in on him. He watched the two sneakers wander the room. Just as he thought he was out of the blue, "get from under the table Ash." He obeyed but slammed his head against the table in the process. His two children (aged seven and two) giggled at the man and his silliness. Rubbing his head he smiled crookedly at his wife, hopeful that she would see his sincerity and forgive him on the spot._

_"Two hundred and fifty pounds?" Or not..._

_"I know, but it wasn't my fault!"_

_"Oh then whose fault was it?"_

_"Well, erm... It was..."_

_"Ash!"_

_"Fine it was my fault! But it was your idea to take us to a museum."_

_"So it's my fault?"_

_"Well it's not just my fault!"_

_"Isn't it?"_

_"No it isn't!"_

_~Course you won't take responsibility! You're worse than the kids!"_

_"Oh whatever Misty."_

"And for the rest of the night they wouldn't talk to each other." By now Jack was almost back in tears. But David quickly carried on from where his sister had left off.

"And then the next morning..."

_"Mist?" The redhead hummed in answer. "Listen, I know that I probably shouldn't have chased the kids around the museum pretending to be the tickle monster-"_

_"Probably?"_

_"Okay I know that I shouldn't have chased the kids around the museum pretending to be the tickle monster and I know that it was stupid of me. But could you please forgive me?" Still with her back to her husband she smirked._

_"I'll think about it." Not happy with this answer the man questioned her._

_"What about if I do this?" Thinking it was something romantic she spun on her heels to face him. But, no, this was Ash Ketchum and he had something else in mind. Quickly his hands attacked her sides until she was on the floor, tears in eyes and laughing profusely at the 'tickle monster'. After five minutes of the torture she was begging for him to stop, in between her fits of giggles. _

_"Ash- Ash stop- it. I'm telling- you! Ash! Okay, okay- I- forgive you!" His hands slid to the stone floor so that they were now on either side of her. _

_"That's the answer I wanted." The woman below him panted hard, out of breath from the inspected attack. She placed her hands on Ash's chest and leant closer to him. "Ash?" Completely entranced by her beautiful eyes;_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Get off me!" And with that she pushed him over and stood to her feet. Looking over her shoulder, she blew him a kiss, winked and strutted from the scene. The love struck Ash watched the woman leave and smirked, shook his head and left the room. On his way out he noticed a young David stood at the door, ruffling his hair he then picked him up and went to join his wife and daughter in the living room._

"So you see, they might argue but it's always okay." Showing a toothy grin the second eldest of five said,

"Plus daddy promised that he'd never hurt mommy." For the first time throughout the whole road trip the twin's spoke up.

"Yep, he did," Scarlett admitted before Charlie added,

"We heard him."

The four children finally realised the absence of the background arguing. David and Kate looked forward to see their parents sat there staring at them, through the window the sand and sea clearly present. They were at the beach.

"Wow, David and Kate getting along, who thought we'd ever see that!"

"I know right?"

Huffing, David opened the door and stomped over to where Gabrielle and Jason were sat on their beach towels. Kate, on the other hand, grabbed her sunglasses from on top of her head and made a run for Cindy. The twins also began to make their own way out of the car and went to see Uncle Brock and Auntie Suzie.

Misty looked over to her husband, blushing.

"Did you really promise that Ash?" A large smile overcame his features.

"Yeah." She kissed him before hopping out the car herself and grabbing baby Jack. Teasingly from the front Ash remarked-

"Nice to know you haven't forgotten him this time."

"Oh shut up!" The sincere smile told him that she, too, was joking. Hand in hand- they travelled towards the beach where they were bombarded with questions.


	7. Misty and Ash are in competition with on

Competing, The Ketchum Way

Now aged ten months old, baby Jack was sat in his high chair, happily giggling away to himself and blowing bubbles through his nose. He was completely unaware of the raging war going on around him...

Ash sat at the head of the table, casting sly glances at his wife in the kitchen, preparing tea. His sight drifted to the content child next to him.

"Hey Jacky," Ash spoke quietly to the young boy who just giggled at his nickname. At the noise Ash looked in the direction of the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief to see that the clutter of dishes had masked the child's cries of glee. Using his finger, the grown man stroked the rosy cheek of the baby, his glance slipped wearily to the figure still attending to the kitchen and half smirked.

"Now, Jack I need you to do me a big favour, okay?" The boy sticking his finger in his mouth was confirmation enough for him. "Say Dada." Two cerulean blue eyes stared up to the man, who by now was in the baby's personal space. "Say Dada," he repeated in hopes of a different outcome. A glint shimmered in the blue eyes. Ash smiled, recognising it. But what he didn't expect was the small hand of the toddler to rise up and slap the man hard on the face. He flinched back in the chair, so much so that the chair jetted off onto two legs and nearly sent the grown man pelting to the floor. Thankfully, the man's reflexes were fully developed, after his many years of having to get himself out of dangerous situations during his travelling days, and he quickly gripped the edge of the table, steering him straight once again. He let out a sigh of relief and glared at the giggling baby.

Suddenly a light flash of pain hit the back of his head. Smoothing over the sore spot he looked to see his attacker, his wife. He hadn't noticed the sound of the kitchen in the background die down and now regretted not being as attentive. He saw a towel in her hand and assumed that was what she had hit him over the head with. He looked over to his youngest child, who had yet to seize giggling, and stood up grabbing his suitcase.

"I've gotta go, you know, work, and er..." Misty lifted an eyebrow and folded her arms to his answer. Meanwhile Ash kissed the crown of Jack's head and hesitantly shuffled over to his wife. He pecked her lips before turning to leave, trying not to cause more mayhem.

"Ketchum?" He turned on his heels and smiled cheekily before being pulled into a kiss.

"Ewww!" David entered just as his two parents pulled apart from one another. Using her hands to smooth out some of the creases in Ash's shirt she said:

"Now you can go." He smirked before leaving, ruffling David's hair on his way out earning an irritated grunt from the teenager. Groggily the boy sat at the breakfast bar and watched his mother, watch his father leave. The minute she was sure the door was fully closed she slid into the seat her husband had just occupied and looked to the baby.

"Listen, Jack, You need to do me a favour, can you do that for me?" David watched on precaustiously. As soon as the baby smiled, his mother returned the gesture before continuing. "I need you to say Momma, can you do that for me? Say Momma." The baby's mouth opened, and the redhead looked to be getting excited but instead of the anticipated word came a fart noise followed by laughing.

"Please tell me you and Dad aren't doing that- again?" Standing to her feet, Misty avoided her eldest's eye contact.

"Doing what?" David sighed, knowing how difficult his mother could be, after all he took after her in that aspect.

"Competing for-" He was interrupted by his three younger siblings entering the room.

"Charlie, Scarlett! Is that mud?" The woman pulled the twins into her arms and looked to their clothes, covered in mud. The two looked to one another before crying out in sync. "Ugh, okay, okay." She placed them on a chair each and then looked over to Kate. "You sitting down or do I have to carry you over to your seat as well?" Although rhetorical, the question was answered by the young girl taking a step further, rising her hands and expressing, a wide, mischievous grin. Sighing, Misty picked up the eight year old girl, with a little difficulty, and walked over to the table, placing her in a seat next to David. On cue she stuck her tongue at the boy who rolled his eyes and mimed the word 'childish' her way.

"So what do you all want?" Each child began to demand their orders, all Misty could hear was a loud mumbling and a faint buzzing that would surely mean she'd have to deal with a headache later. "One at a time!" She shouted, gaining the attention of her five children.

"Cereal, please."

"Porridge!"

"Toast, please."

"Toast," due to Charlie's lisp the word didn't come out quite the way he wanted, in aggravation he let out an angry sigh and looked to the wooden table, staring at it as though he could burn a hole through the material. His mother wandered over to the ginger boy and knelt down to his level. She kissed the side of his forehead and when he looked over to her he saw the large smile on her face and couldn't help but smile back. She ruffled his hair and walked in to the kitchen to prepare her children's breakfast.

Once done and the four the eldest Ketchum children able to eat she grabbed the mashed banana and headed over to Jack.

"Hey buddy you hungry?" The boy's stomach let out it's replied and the boy looked to his mother wide eyed. "Too much like your father for your own good." She chuckled and went to feed the boy. However he refused to open his mouth for the woman until she made the aeroplane noises that he enjoyed. She noticed him mimicking the noises and got an idea. Swerving the spoon in the air she elongated the word "momma" and was surprised to see the boy accept the food. Yet he didn't do as before, not that it discouraged the stubborn redhead. With the bowl empty she admitted this small defeat and finally took in the silence of the room.

"Mommy what are you doing?" Misty looked to Scarlett and then observed her other children's faces. Charlie was just as freaked out as Scarlett whereas Kate just shook her head and David; well David was just pretending that he was anywhere but there.

"Does this mean that you and Daddy-"

"Come on; start cleaning up your plates." The children did as told but Kate already had her answer. She swanned into the kitchen alongside David and heard him murmur-

"It's going to be a long week..." The twins stared up to their elders,

"What's going on?" They said in harmony.

"Let's just say that it's going to be a rough week for Jack." This cleared nothing up for the twins but they just shrugged their shoulders and raced outside. David explained his going out and Kate went to take Pikachu for a walk to the park that was located at the end of the street. Misty told David to walk Kate there and begrudgingly he accepted. Misty sat back at the table and looked to the young boy. "Momma?"

The slamming of a door scared Misty but the young boy remained unfazed. Misty doubled over the table to try and regain her breath.

"Mist, you okay?" She looked over to her husband.

"Was there really any need?" The man looked confused. "The door," she stated obviously and the recognition in the man's face told her that he understood.

"I'm just so pi-" A giggling made Ash rethink his choice of words, "annoyed." She giggled a little at his close slip up before actually noticing his appearance. He looked awful. He had mud on him, was drenched head to foot and

"Why what's up?"

"Okay, so this guy I was supposed to be interviewing today cancelled but he didn't think to tell me. No, he decided to leave me locked outside his building for an hour so that he can have a good snooze in his nice, warm bed. But no, that's not it. This damned weather is punishing me for something and decides to rain, not just any rain but full on pelt it down. Since the car is in the garage I had to take that stupid bus which, then, has the nerve to be late and I accidentally miss my stop because I was too cold and too wet and too tired and too angry to notice that I'd already passed it so I had to walk through those stupid alleyways to get here. But at least it had stop raining right? But that didn't stop a stupid idiotic driver using his car to cover me in more water by driving at ridiculously fast speeds! After that slipped in the mud and lastly I got stopped by some old couple wanting directions, not the type of old people that realise that you're soaked, angry and that you really just want to get home, the type of old people that-" Misty placed a hand over his mouth, knowing that his rant could last quite a bit longer.

"Go upstairs, have a hot shower, put on some clean dry clothes and I'll have a full breakfast and coffee here for when you're done." He smiled but then remembered something.

"Er, not the breakfast thanks, we all know how lethal your cooking can be." He let off a cheeky grin and watched her narrow her eyes at his retreating figure.

When he came back down stairs he enjoyed his coffee and joined his wife and baby son in the living room.

"So where is everyone?"

"Kate's at the park with Pikachu, David's out with Jason and Gabby and the twins are in the garden. Actually could you watch Jack while I go and pick up Kate and Pikachu from the park?" Ash nodded and sat on the play mat with the toddler who was throwing his toys about.

He heard the door shut and looked to his son. "Did Jack have a bad day? _Dadda_ had a bad day. _Dadda_ had a horrible day. Whose day do you think was worse; Jack's or _Dadda's_? I think _Dadda's_ definitely won, whatcha think Jack, _Dadda_?" The young boys eyes looked to the man but said nothing. "Listen Jack, you need to help Dadda win, okay?" No reply. "Right Team Dadda!" The man saw a yellow ball of fluff flurry past him and gulped. When he looked up there stood his giggling daughter and wife, shaking her head.

"Kate was already on her way home. Team Dadda? Really, Ash?" The man didn't speak as he watched her scoop up the tiny tot. "I think Team Momma should win, aye Jack?"

"Hey, that's my strategy!" Misty smirked at the man before her. Challenging him. Knowing what was about to ensue, Kate took a front seat on the coach and waited for the action to start. "You can't just do that!"

"_Momma_ can do what she wants."

"Well _Dadda_ disagrees!"

"_Momma_ doesn't care." A ringing sound halted the couple. Ash dug in his pocket and reached his noisy mobile phone. He rolled his eyes at the caller ID.

"_Dadda_ has a call that _Dadda_ needs to take." He turned around and began to speak into his phone.

"Hey Boss." Misty sat next to her daughter =, Jack on her knee and observed her husband pace the length of their living room.

"Shit!" He quite audibly he exclaimed. The young boy picked up on this and smiled.

"Shit!" Ash turned on his heel, eying the giggling baby boy. "Shit," he repeated, giggling some more. Misty turned the boy on her knee to face him. Ash hadn't head the last two minutes of his boss' rant and didn't plan on listening anymore.

"I have to go, I'll call you back."

"You listen here Ketchum-" the voice cut off as Ash closed his conversation and wandered over to Ash.

"Shit." The boy looked at each parent, astounded, worried and not quite sure what to do...

It took the rest of the day and the rest of the couple's energy to get Jack to stop saying 'shit'. David couldn't stop laughing and after a while Kate was the same, the twins were both too shocked at the 'use of a bad word'. So that night the two collapsed onto their bed.

"Still two all then..." Ash turned to face his partner, smirking.

"Till the next one..." Misty slowly looked at him.

"Next one?" Her tone was high pitched whilst she glared at the man in her bed. "Next one! There won't be a bloody next one Ash Ketchum!" All Ash could do was laugh at the redhead. He left her wondering what was running through her mind as he easily drifted off into a heavy sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The Ketchum's Winter

"Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad!" The man let out a low growl before opening his eyes to stare angrily at his daughter. The sight of the girl fully dressed struck the man as odd, but then again it wouldn't be the first time that she'd done so. The clock to his right read '6:00'. He let out a huff of annoyance and then rolled over. He pulled his wife into him.

"Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad!" His attempts to ignore the eight year old failed immediately as his wife elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ash, see what she wants!"

"Ugh! Why can't you?"

"She wants you!"

"But it's early!" His voice came out whiney and the woman turned to face him.

"Seriously, Ash, sort your daughter out."

"Why is it whenever we get woken up in the middle of the night they're _my_ kids?"

"Ash." The cautionary voice of his wife was enough to stop his slight interrogation. He lifted an eye to look at the brunette stood, clad in the pink pyjamas her Aunt Violet had bought her, the ones she hated oh so much. The image of the girl was enough to bring a smile to the proud fathers face but he couldn't help it when his eyes lazily slid shut. He spent a few moments entertaining the thought, and ignored the young girls perpetuate shaking of him whilst he mulled it over in his mind. However, the more time he spent pondering the idea, the more undesirable the thought of moving became. He riskily chanced a sly glance back to wife, who was sound asleep once again. Then he realised he was no longer being shook and the persistent sound of his daughters voice was nowhere to be heard so he closed his eyes, prepared to return to the land of sleep.

A few hours later and both parents were waking up to the sweet sound of silence.

"What did Kate want?" Stretching the man looked up to the woman and shrugged his shoulders, to this she rolled her eyes but avoided the cocky remark she was going to throw his way. She made her way to Ash's side of the bed so that she could head to the kitchen and begin to make breakfast. Yet within that short space of time she was dragged onto the knee of her partner who had been sitting on the edge of his side of the bed. "Ash!" The cheeky smile on his face soon calmed her down and her hand found his face.

"Hear that?" Without taking her eyes from his cinnamon one she shook her head. "Exactly."

Within minutes the whole demeanour of the two changed as they realised that their home was never silent. Never. They were scrambling to their feet and roaming the hallways in hopes of finding their children sleeping. But to no avail. The entirety of the house consisted of just the two panicking parents as they ran around hopelessly shouting the names of their five children and their beloved yellow fur ball.

Still no response.

The two met halfway in the hallway and padded downstairs and out into the front garden to meet the giggling of children, they sighed in relief- instantly recognising the voices. Outside, they were met with the frozen water flying down on them, covering the once green front of their home. A very familiar face ran around the corner, squealing all the way. The ginger toddler was tackled to the floor by a fast-moving yellow blur, soon to be identified by the family pet- Pikachu. Next around the corner was the counterpart to the young girl, running and tripping over, chuckling at himself and standing once again to throw the quickly-melting ball of snow at his twin. Swiping their vision to the other side of the garden they found their eldest and youngest son. Jack was sat on his brother's knee, and with his petite hands scooping the fragile confetti only to marvel at its ultimate disappearing. The wide eyes of the boy expressed his inner most excitement at the simple process whilst his senior sat grinning at the naivety and innocence of the toddler, often telling him that it was snow or that it was melting, the young boy would react by smiling- obviously trusting his brother's words of wisdom. The last to be found was their oldest daughter; swishing around in the snow to form a snow angel, just as she had been taught by her mother many years ago. She seemed to be in her own little world, and humming a calm tune that matched the harmonious atmosphere created by the laughter and smiles. But this was soon to be ruined.

"What is going on out here?" The outburst had even caused Misty to slightly flinch, not expecting this reaction from her husband.

Five faces peered in their general direction. Pikachu scurried to his owner but stayed by his feet, and lay in the snow as a way of saying sorry. Meanwhile Kate and David, knowingly, dropped their gleeful expressions- their father did not shout often but when he did, they were sure to listen. David stood, still clutching onto the giggling young baby as he swallowed the small bit of fear. Charlie and Scarlett just looked to the floor, prepared for their lecture. Of course little Jack was, as usual, oblivious to the growing tension.

"Well?" Nobody spoke. Nobody dare.

"Ash..." Misty could see the looks of guilt portrayed on her children's faces but Ash simply cut her off. He turned to his wife.

"No, Mist. This is not okay." He looked back over to the five youngsters, no longer attempting to throw their mother looks in hope of her saving them from the upcoming scolding. "Have you any idea how worried we were? I don't think that I've ever been so scared in my life when I saw that you weren't all in your beds!"

"But daddy, I tried to tell you-"

Ash looked to his daughter, not convinced with her attempt to defend herself.

"Kate. Did I give you permission to come out in the garden?" After a brief silence she shook her head. "Did your mother?" Another no. Now he directed his assault to the whole of his clan. "Did we give _any_ of you permission to come out here?" A chorus of "no's" followed yet Ash was still not satisfied. "You do not leave that house-" he even pointed behind himself to clarify that he did indeed mean their home- "without letting one of us know, understood?" Each child agreed and a silence ensured until a brave David spoke up.

"At least we all dressed appropriately, for once, right?" David was right, all of them had dressed in their winter wear, even little Jack was wrapped up in a blue bubble coat, stripy scarf, a white bobble hat and odd gloves (one green, one black). Yet, his attempt to make a joke of the situation as Ash persisted, pinching the bridge of his nose in the process.

"David, that is not the point. What if something happened to one of you? What if one of you fell or some stranger came into the garden? What would you have done then? Your mother and I had no idea where you were! We would never have known that something was wrong." He sighed in annoyance before continuing. "You kids; you, Pikachu and your mother- you mean the world to me!" Misty smiled at her husband's declaration. "If something happened... It pains me to even think about it. I don't want any of you to do anything like this again! I swear if-"

The next thing ash knew a tirade of cold white hit him in the side of the face, stopping him mid sentence. He turned to the redheaded woman beside him, clutching her sides and falling to the floor in fits of giggles. He was truly baffled. His small tribe held back laughter as they tried to remain serious as not to get in more trouble.

"Misty!" His face was high pitched as he stared at the woman in disbelief but this only caused her to laugh even more.

"Oh come on, Ash." He still couldn't believe what she had just done. "Honey, I think they get the idea. And they're all safe now which is the important thing." She strode over to her husband, still red in the face and placed her hand on his own reddening cheek. "You all understand that you should never do this again, don't you?" Her children nodded eagerly, even Jack who was mimicking the actions of his siblings. "See?"

Ash was flustered; he could feel his cheeks glow as he came to the conclusions that he may have gone a tad over the top... "I guess I was a little overdramatic..."

"A little?" She chuckled at his antics. He, on the other hand, felt his cheeks heat up more. It amazed him that she could still make him feel this way after so many years. A sheepish grin overtook his facial expression and he found himself subconsciously rubbing the back of his neck nervously. She kissed him on the cheek. But gave him a little extra. The ice melted on his heated face and he was soon spluttering out the white particles.

He turned to his wife. Now he was intent on revenge. The two were back to their ten year old selves, running through the snow, joining their children in the childish escapades.


	9. Ritchie and Melody's Wedding

Ritchie and Melody's Wedding

Ritchie and Melody were a perfectly suited couple. The two brunettes, parents of two beautiful children had finally decided to tie the knot. Ritchie was clad in the typical groom wear and wore a top hat in place of his usual cap that Melody had refused to let him wear, although he had put up a good fight for the hats rightful pace, he'd lost. Their eight year old son, Finn, had been ring bearer and seemed to take his job deadly serious as he walked the aisle next until taking his place to the side of his father where his hand found his father's; at that point Misty was already nudging Ash at the "cuteness of it all". Kate had been next; she was the designated flower girl, alongside Melody's niece Holly. The two wore soft purple dresses that flared at the waist and was encrusted with white flowers at the bottom. It had taken over an hour for the two proud parents to convince the eight year old just to put on the dress, finally bribing her with a new game for her new console. She now happily paraded down in front of the audience, scattering the red carpet with the bundles of flowers from the little woven basket she held. Misty grasped Ash's hand when she saw the sight of her daughter at the top of the aisle and when Ash chanced a glance her way he saw nothing but absolute pride at the little girl. He turned back to see her pass their pew and bestow upon them the brightest of smiles she could muster. Ash squeezed his wife's hand tightly as his smiled back at his baby girl. From the corner of his eye he managed to spot David, giving the sister whom he claimed to "hate so much" a thumbs up. Uncontrollably, his smile doubled inside and a few tears sprung to his eyes whilst he carefully watched Kate take a seat at the front next to Holly. After that was Lauren, best friend and maid of honour to Melody. Ash and Misty had never had more than a few words with the woman but she nice enough and new Melody back from their hometown Shamouti Island. She bounced two year old Kelsey, daughter to the bride and groom. Her bubbly giggles brightened the room and seemed to catch Jack's attention. And lastly was the bride, latched onto to her older sister Karol. They looked beautiful, but everyone in the room was taken aback by the beauty of the bride.

Her brunette hair was curled and half of the strands were pinned to the back of her head with small purple flowers interlaced in between. Her makeup was a touch of purple eye shadow, black eyeliner and some pink lipstick. A natural blush powered her skin in a way that enhanced her blue eyes. Her ivory dress was strapless, the bodice fitted to her shape perfectly outlining her petite figure. From the waist the silk stopped clinging to her waist and fell to a pool at the floor, showering her lower half in a shine that reflected the many different emotions of passersby with each of the bride's steps.

The rest of the ceremony was spent with eyes weeping, fits of giggles and moments of loving silence. Sometime during that period of time, Misty had lowered her head onto her husband's shoulder, Ash rested his head comfortably on top of his wife's but not after giving her a quick kiss on the crown of her head. Everything was perfect. Ritchie even carried his new wife out of the room. Ash couldn't help but notice a few similarities to that of his and his own wife's wedding.

The family followed the rest of the crowd as they walked the short distance to the reception, which was decorated in all shades of purple. They sat in their designated seats whilst the children caught up with friends and danced to the music. Meanwhile, Ash and Misty sat speaking to the newly married Ritchie and soon to be divorced Gary while baby Jack slept in the arms of his mother- exhausted from the long event.

"Daddy!" The sound of his daughter's voice drew Ash's attention and he looked in the direction of the purple dressed girl.

"What's up Kate?" Smiling the young girl handed the man a Haribo ring and went onto explain the story.

"Finny proposed to me!" Ash's wide smile was wiped from his face within the space of the sentence.

"What?" His voice rusty and all the laughter drained. A nudge to his side caused him to focus his attention on the man sat beside him.

"Hey, you never know Ash, maybe we'll end up being in laws!" Ritchie laughed, Gary joining in wityh little haste and Ash even heard chuckles from the red head beside him. He turned in his seat to look at the suspect, practically doubled over in laughter.

"This isn't funny Mist." Misty wasn't sure whether it was what he said or the fact that he was deadly serious but the woman began to be whipped up in a frenzy of laughter once again and struggled to regain herself before facing her husband.

"It's a little funny." His face didn't once change and Misty wasn't sure if she'd ever seen the man be so serious in all the time she'd known him.

"No." She ran her hands up his toned arm, where she could still feel his muscle under the suit.

"Sweetie-"

"No." Without warning he turned to face his daughter and stuffed the Haribo into his mouth.

Behind him, Ritchie lifted an eyebrow at the antics of his friend then looked to Misty. In response she put her head in her hands. When she looked to her daughter, the little girl was not deterred in the slightest but still happily smiling at her father.

"It's okay Daddy, I told him no." Ash let out a sigh of relief. "I have to become a Pokemon Master first!" The man smiled, ruffled his daughter's immaculately curled hair and gave her a wink. She turned to run back to Finn but stopped half way to speak to her Dad once again. "I promised him that as soon as I'm Pokemon Master could marry!" After that she bounded over to the eight year old brunette.

"Looks like you too really could be in laws, aye Ashy-boy?" Ritchie laughed once again at Gary's remark. Who growled at the two but was dragged to his feet before any remark could be made back.

"Let's dance." Ash obliged, not being able to refuse the puppy dog eyes of his wife. He took her swiftly in his arms and lead her to the dance floor, twirling her around whilst he looked at her as though no one else in the room mattered. It only just dawned upon him that he had not noticed what had happened to the sleeping weight bundled in his arms wife's arms once a moment was. He trusted his wife but couldn't hold himself back from asking.

"Who'd you leave Jack with?" She smiled.

"Gary." There was once a time that response would spark some sort of worry in the raven haired man but now he just shrugged the answer off. Gary Oak had surprisingly grown up since the birth of his daughter to wife Leaf, who'd sadly passed away many years ago. Their daughter Bella, now aged fifteen, had been brought up on the tales of her mother's brilliance and couldn't wait to be just like her. Gary was extremely overprotective of the teenager, just as Ash was with Kate. It astounded who a like the two fathers now were but couldn't be prouder of his childhood friend who'd been forced to grow up even earlier than he had. Still hung up on Leaf's death he spent time with many different women but settled on one just five years ago, unfortunately marrying her for all the wrong reasons. Gary didn't seem bothered when he'd informed his friend on the divorce papers that had landed on his desk. When Ash had asked why he'd replied simply; "where the hell would I be without Harry?" Harry was his son, a true miniature of the man himself. It was true- since their days travelling Gary had turned his life around, he was a responsible parent and someone Ash trusted with the safety of his kids. No longer did he give Misty the look that said 'what the hell were you thinking?' but instead smiled and looked in the direction of the spiky haired male bouncing the baby on his knee and speaking to him compassionately.

"Good call." The danced the rest of the night in silence, the music lulling them to a place far from the grand hall of the Hiroshi wedding reception. Ash was actually starting to drift into his own world until he felt a poke in his elbow. He sent his wife a strange look but followed her gaze to two teenagers. David and Gabby. David held up his hand to the sitting girl who although looked flustered accepted his invitation and followed the boy to the dance floor. David met his father's eyes who gave him a wink.

"Look at Drew's face..." He followed the redhead's instructions till he saw his intended audience. He couldn't help but laugh at the red faces man being comforted by the brunette next to him.

"Ah, he's got nothing to worry about, David's a good lad." Misty giggled at his hypocritical ways.

"And Finn's not?" Now it was his turn to be flustered.

"Well, that's, er, it's different and you know it is!"

"Liar." He stopped dancing and turned around on the stunning woman. "C'mon Ash, I can feel your pouting from here." He looked back at her and glared. She just smiled, clearly use to the childishness of the man she married.

Just for a moment he let himself be caught up in her beauty. One she noticed her face flashed red as she looked at her dress subconsciously. He noticed her doing this and rolled his eyes, again taking her in his eyes.

"Didn't I already tell you that you're beautiful?"

Not quite believing the man, she challenged him-

"Then why were you looking at me like that?" He smirked, she couldn't see him as he held her close in place while they encircled their spot on the floor but he was certain she had heard him.

"I guess that I just got caught in how gorgeous you look tonight-" Ash was never good with words. "Not that you don't always look gorgeous it's just that, well you know, tonight you look even prettier, wait I mean." By now he was working himself in a panic in case he'd offended the woman he loved.

A flick of his nose was all it took to get him to look at her and stop his incessant babbling.

"Shut up." She kissed him hard on the lips, and he eagerly responded. Her head returned to his shoulder and they danced the night away.

It was only at the end of the night that they were reunited with Charlie, Scarlett and Pikachu. All three were covered in the lavender icing from the wedding cake. The minute they spotted the rest of their family they packed up and said their farewells and congratulations to the family.

Ritchie and Melody never did find out who ate all their cake...


End file.
